amaotonovel Chapter 14 Autumn Campaign (4)
Chapter 14 Autumn Campaign (4)
Alice stood in the middle of the column, supported by two 12-pound cannons on the flank. She jogged to the artillery commander.
"Radar 300, attack the center of the enemy formation, fire a volley of grenades!"
"Yes, sir! Range 300, fire one grenade at a time, load both guns!"
The firing table and artillery training together constitute the strength of the artillery unit. The gunner calculates the azimuth and then turns the screw rod under the M1857. This screw rod can control the elevation of the gun barrel and is used to determine the design azimuth. Then, soldiers wearing dark blue artillery uniforms carry a propellant pack from a horse-drawn cart next to them. Each gun is equipped with such a propellant pack. This fixed propellant pack avoids the consequences of too much or too little gunpowder, which would result in too short a range or barrel explosion.
"Grenades assembled!"
An artilleryman held a grenade, marked the firing range on the propellant charge, and then put it into the breech. A soldier then grabbed the lever and loaded the propellant and the shell.
"Launch preparation complete!"
The gunner inserted the firing pin, a white thread wrapped around his hand; his equipment was for carrying the firing pin. The cannon was ready, and the artillery captain raised the red artillery flag and waved it downwards—
"fire!"
boom! boom! !
Large plumes of white smoke and explosions served as the drumbeats of war. Two grenades, one after the other, flew across most of the battlefield and penetrated the Kurt army's ranks, which were not yet charging and were preparing to assemble, before exploding with a deafening roar.
What weapon is that?
God!
Explosions and shrapnel rained down, quickly felling hundreds of people. The grenades exploding in the dense crowd were a disaster, and blood was blasted down like raindrops. The morale of the forcibly conscripted farmers immediately plummeted to rock bottom.
"Switch to solid shot and fire two more rounds! Attack the front of the formation!"
"Yes, Commander!"
Alice drew her sword, and a mounted messenger halted his galloping horse and saluted her: "Your Highness! His Majesty informs you that she will advance after two rounds of cannon fire!"
Alice smiled and considered for a moment, then told him, "Very good! My department will cooperate in pushing this forward!"
The messenger ran quickly back to the central position. Alice looked at a cavalryman on her right, a tall horseman in a black uniform. The First Cavalry Regiment was mostly composed of knights who still followed the Queen.
"Ralph!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Get your men on board. We'll advance after two rounds of shelling. If the enemy collapses, you know what to do!"
"Of course, we should take them down!"
The knights no longer wore armor, but instead wore helmets, shortened carbines, and sabers. Alice cut the barrels of the forged guns in half to make cavalry rifles, which were then equipped by the First Cavalry Regiment. In the age of firearms, cavalry could no longer charge infantry head-on. The First Cavalry Regiment was no longer simply saber-wielding cavalry, but dragoons equipped with firearms, capable of maneuvering on horseback and shooting on dismount. Of course, wielding sabers and shooting from horseback remained their primary combat focus at this stage.
Two more rounds of artillery fire followed. Compared to the impressive destructive power of the artillery shells, the solid shot was even more demoralizing. The entire 1st Division's howitzers fired 12 rounds of 12-pound solid shot. These huge iron balls bounced and rolled on the ground, plunging into the restless Kut formation. Every time the rolling iron ball made contact with a human body, it would tear off a bloody leg, an arm, or even jump up and rip a person in half until it lost its momentum and came to rest on the ground.
"First Regiment! First Platoon, stand up! Rackets raised! Forward!"
"Third Regiment! First platoon, stand up! Rackets raised! Forward!"
Alice heard a command coming from the wind, and she drew her forged weapon—a command sword unlike those of traditional vampires—and swung it forward.
"Second Regiment! First rank, stand up! Rifles on your shoulders! Forward!"
The war drums struck out the beat of "Departure" again, and the gray lines of the formation moved forward. Kurt stood on the high ground, while Orpheus looked at the three thousand-man regiments that were disintegrating, and then at the long gray lines of men holding short spears moving forward.
"Their weapons are incredibly powerful... comparable to those of a magician!"
"No, sir, a magician cannot do that!"
All the magician could do was conjure a few fireballs the size of a person and burn a few people to death; these destructive weapons almost shattered his expectations. As a commander, he knew all too well the morale of his troops; although they seemed numerous, in reality only the mercenary group and the knightly order possessed combat power.
The enemy isn't buying it now.
"Move the Knights! Mount up and charge their left flank!"
As a lord, Kurt naturally had a knightly order under his command. This order held Kurt's land, glory, and money, and now it was time for them to pledge their loyalty!
The enemy knights haven't even advanced yet! Attack their flanks first, then use your knights to rout them from the flanks!
"charge!"
Knights clad in plate armor were undoubtedly the main force of this era. Orpheus knew that if he didn't force out the enemy infantry's fighting power and disrupt their deployment at this moment, the battle might collapse.
A line of silver-armored knights mounted their horses, their lances and shields striking their plate armor. The knights swiftly charged out from the side of the formation, and the square formation in front, seeing the knights attack, calmed their morale slightly.
"They're coming towards us."
"Second Regiment! Change from line formation to hollow square formation! Artillery units move inward!"
The battle rehearsals against cavalry had been conducted many times. The three regiments of the 1st Division were not untrained rookies. The soldiers roared, and the entire line was slightly messy, but it quickly turned into a hollow square. The two 12-pound mountain field guns were also quickly moved into the ranks.
What kind of formation is that?
Orpheus watched as his flankings were about to be attacked, and they quickly transformed into a cube?
"First row, squat down!"
Alice stepped forward. Although this kind of thing had been rehearsed many times, no one knew what would happen. She could even see the trembling hands of the soldiers in the front row due to nervousness. She stood at the opposite corner of the first row and shouted loudly.
"Your commander is here! Obey orders!"
"Heat-inducing medicine!"
"aim!"
The clicking sound came, and the silver mountain had advanced to within 150 meters. Alice brandished her saber, and a forest of bayoneted muskets fell, pointing forward.
"Fire!!!"
From the moment the trigger is pulled, flint strikes the powder chamber, ignites the propellant, propels the bullet, cuts through the air, pierces through iron and chainmail, and cuts through flesh.
The knights seemed to have turned onto a wall, an invisible wall. A moment later, a soft yet firm female voice rang out, and the soldiers in the second rank pulled the trigger.
The three rows of knights opened fire, and amidst the hail of bullets, the front of the knights was routed. The knights in the middle turned around and tried to pass through the side of the square formation.
"Damn it! This is the purpose of this formation!"
Orpheus observed the weapons of the enemy he faced, weapons that could easily penetrate the knights' defenses, like a crossbow, and that kind of phalanx was specifically designed to rout the knights!
As expected, when the knights tried to pass through the hollow square formation, the flanks immediately opened fire, firing three volleys to wound the knights' attack. Seeing this, the knights at the rear of the order immediately turned their horses around.
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
"Hurrah—"
Alice raised her sword high, and the soldiers cheered. Kurt's face turned ashen. His expensively maintained knightly order hadn't even encountered a single enemy soldier before, with just a few loud bangs and plumes of smoke, those proud knights lay on the ground.
"Damn it! They're all useless! I spent so much money! Damn good-for-nothings, complete trash!"